Due to a passing in the family a few years ago and my subsequent health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for years after the bereavement. Thank you for the opportunity.

I loved this book, my husband loved this book, and my children loved this book! We all learned a lot, quite a lot actually and had great family time learning together! Get this book!

Informative, enjoyable book on airship history

I enjoyed this book. I found it highly informative yet it doesn’t get bogged down in minutiae. Anthony Burton writes with a conversational tone and with some humor. In terms of subject matter, it is similar to John Swinfield’s Airship, but the latter more concentrated on the British airship program while the Burton effort was broader scope. They are both fine books and I recommend each of them.

Up, up and away. I’ll try to resist the uplifting puns, but in all seriousness this was fun. I was somewhat disappointed with the last book by the publisher, so I was slightly apprehensive going into this one, but awesomely enough this pretty much exactly all I want and expect from nonfiction. It educated, entertained and engaged. Triple E. And now I’m quite well informed on the subject too. And of course there is so much more to these specific modes of air travel than just what exists in popular knowledge. In fact, in popular knowledge it’s a transportation mode almost exclusive defined by an unforgettable disaster. No one seems to remember Graf Zeppelin. I wasn’t sensational enough. It didn’t spectacularly burst into flames. But it was the best Zeppelin ever built, it crossed the Atlantic, circumnavigated the world, went to North Pole, defied Nazis by refusing to be emblazoned with a swastika and used as a propaganda tool, it made a record number of flight over a record number of miles. Awesome, right. There is something inherently awesome about traveling via a Zeppelin, the glamour of the bygone era, where things were done slower and enjoyed more thoroughly. Before the world of airplanes, Zeppelins were all the rage, the views alone…But yes, balloons and airships have a long and storied past, from the early efforts by the Montgolfier brothers to modern day enterprises. Yeah, I was surprised to learn of the latter, but apparently Lockheed Martin has just produced a new design. The early daredevils tinkered and finetuned, unfazed by the dangers, undaunted by the failures…all for the irresistible freedom of flight. Seeimingly all of designers were men, but there was a number of women who would take these machines to the skies, stunningly brave and gender stereotype defying for the times. Balloons and Zeppelins were used extensive during wars, too, which was very interesting to learn about. The fate of Waterloo might not have been the same had a balloon been there to observe. Did you know that Blimp was designated as Class B, Limp and then adorably abbreviated. Or that it means a nonrigid airship. Or that ballooning is still a pastime, albeit an expensive one. And here I thought it was just something one did at a zoo (it’s a real thing locally). One of my favorite stories in this book (and also one I didn’t know about before) was about the North Pole airship journey undertaken by Roald Amundsen and some international colleagues (and yes, they did bicker for the credit afterwards). Apparently one Pole wasn’t enough for Amundsen. What a guy. I’d say bipolar, but that’s just silly. The venture itself and so many others were not silly in the least and in fact quite dangerous, which made them all the more exciting to read about. So yeah, really enjoyed this book, it was succinct, well written, informative, interesting and provided a deliciously ample supply of visual aid, be it art or photos. Seriously, so many nonfiction books skimp on visuals, it really deserves kudos how generous this author was with his audience. This book is just as good as the word dirigible, which is an absolutely terrific word. Well worth a read. Thanks Netgalley.

Great book that takes the reader through the early days of the Montgolfier brothers to von Zeppelin to the modern era of non-rigid airships. Hot air balloons were instrumental in getting messages out of Paris during the Prussian siege, then dirigibles were used for reliable transportation and, unfortunately, the bombing of cities in the First World War...then back to commercial transportation.. I'm middle-aged and still fascinated when there's a blimp in the air, so I enjoyed this book thoroughly.